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William Walton Granger
William Walton Granger IV is an American film industry executive, producer and director. Granger is best known as the producer of the Star Wars series. His controversial acts in the firing of series creator George Lucas has caused him enormous backlash by fans of the series. Despite this he has worked hard to maintain a quality to the series and has primarily focused on the intellectual property, rather then have a wide varying career. He has been married four times and has five children. Early Life William Walton Granger IV was born on May 15, 1942, in Los Angeles, California. The oldest of six children born to Madison "Maddie" Granger (née Williams), a former model and vaudeville performer and William Walton Granger III, an executive for Paramount Pictures. His siblings are Elizabeth Madison (b. 1945), Charles Raymond (b. 1948), Michael James (b. 1950), Andrea Melissa (b. 1952) and Mary Margaret (b. 1954). Career Granger grew up in and around the film industry and eventually chose to pursue a career in that field. While studying at U.S.C., he began his career in the film industry working for the 20th Century Fox art department. Granger had worked on background paintings for several films in the late 1960's. In 1968 he was a production assistant for the science-fiction classic Planet of the Apes. In 1969, at the age of 27, he was given a production role on the film Justine. At the age of 30, he was promoted to a junior Executive of Production and oversaw the release of several films. He worked with Alan Ladd Jr. for many years and during Ladd's tenure as President of 20th Century Fox, he was assigned the task of overseeing a new project by up and coming director George Lucas. Star Wars Original Trilogy (1977-1983) In 1975, Granger was asked to assist Lucas on behalf of Ladd. Lucas had engaged the president with conceptual drawings for a new space opera project and a deal had been struck. Lucas would further develop the screenplay and Granger would support Lucas. Granger had a great deal of confidence in the ideas of Lucas, but believed that as a writer Lucas had difficulties. The first draft was considered too long and complicated. A second draft contained a teaser for a never-made sequel about "The Princess of Ondos," and with a third draft some months later, Lucas attempted to negotiate a contract that gave him rights to make two sequels. Fearful that he might lose control of the series or be unable to secure the remainder of the story, Lucas had hoped to re-negotiate his contract with the success of American Graffiti Granger went to Ladd directly to request that he handle the situation. Ladd, though still a strong supporter of Lucas, told Granger to deal with the matter as he wanted. Granger quickly refused this request and spoke directly to the Board of Directors at 20th Century Fox to gain further support. Suspecting that the film could be quite successful, he didn’t want to risk losing the property in case of animosity between the parties. Instead he agreed to offer a small chunk of the merchandising rights to Lucas and insured that he'd still have the contract to produce the series. This rejection furthered the animosity between Granger and Lucas. Though it initially started out as the first chapter of a series, Granger pressured Lucas to write a fourth draft. The script again underwent subtle changes that made it more satisfying as a self-contained film, ending with the destruction of the Empire itself by way of destroying the Death Star. However, Lucas had previously conceived of the film as the first in a series of adventures. Though the relationship between the two softened after filming began, Granger needed to assist with the budget with his own money (Lucas felt this was a deliberate attempt at coercion on Granger's part) to the tune of one million dollars. The last argument they had over the finished product would be the exclusion of the subtitle Part I: A New Hope. Lucas wanted it in the film, Granger did not. When Star Wars proved successful, Lucas and Granger were pressured to begin work on a second film immediately. Without Granger's approval Lucas hired science fiction author Leigh Brackett to write Star Wars II with him. They held story conferences and, by late November 1977, Lucas had produced a handwritten treatment called The Empire Strikes Back. Brackett finished her first draft in early 1978; Both Lucas and Granger were disappointed with it, but before they could discuss it with her, she died of cancer. With no writer available, Lucas had to write his next draft himself. It was this draft in which Lucas first made use of the "Episode" numbering for the films; Empire Strikes Back was listed as Episode II. Lucas and Granger did not see eye-to-eye on several plot points which continued to strain their working relationship. With pre-production lagging behind schedule and the 20th Century Fox board demanding results, Granger decided that Lucas was not an asset, but a hindrance. Granger, pleading his case to the executives of Twentieth Century Fox, was given permission to assume total control. Granger happily and willingly had Lucas let out of his contract. In July of 1978 Lucas was told by telegram that he had been fired and Granger immediately set out to piece together a cohesive story from Lucas’ own treatments and previous drafts. Granger put to rest story points he and Lucas were debating and began to revise the backstory: Now Anakin Skywalker was Ben Kenobi's brilliant student, but was swayed to the dark side by Emperor Palpatine (who became a Sith and not simply a politician). Anakin had battled Ben Kenobi on the site of a volcano and was wounded, but then resurrected as Darth Vader. Meanwhile Kenobi hid Luke and his twin sister on separate worlds. Luke on Tatooine and the unnamed sister on Xagobah. Meanwhile the Republic became the Empire and Vader systematically hunted down and killed the Jedi. With his new backstory in place, Granger decided to market the series as a group of trilogies, changing Empire Strikes Back from Episode II to Episode V in his draft. Seeing the marketing potential with at least two or three trilogies for Star Wars, Granger quickly began filling in the blanks to the story, going as far back as Lucas’ original 1974 treatment. Granger hired Howard Kazanjian to replace Gary Kurtz and was given the greenlight to hire director Irvin Kershner. Granger, Kershner, and Kazanjian saw the film as a more serious and adult film, which was helped by the new, darker storyline, and developed the series from the light adventure roots of the first film. By the time Granger began writing Episode VI in 1981 (then titled Revenge of the Jedi), much had changed. Granger’s 1981 rough drafts had Darth Vader competing with the Emperor for possession of Luke—and in the second script, the "revised rough draft", Vader became a sympathetic character. In the third and final draft, Vader was explicitly redeemed and finally unmasked. This change in character would provide a springboard to the "Tragedy of Darth Vader" storyline that underlies the prequels. Star Wars "Expansion of the Universe" (1984-1987) Wanting to keep the public consciousness on Star Wars, Granger immediately began work on a sequel trilogy after the 1983 release of Return of the Jedi. Wanting to extend the intellectual property beyond the film, Granger conceived an idea for an animated show that could focus on the adventures of C-3PO and R2-D2. Using the voice talents of Anthony Daniels, Star Wars: Droids premiered on in 1985. Though Marvel Comics had published adaptations for the Star Wars films, they never opted into a long term contract. So Granger next licensed out the property to up and coming Dark Horse Comics with the intent on creating original stories within the Star Wars universe. In the four years between the end of the original trilogy and the start of the prequel trilogy, Star Wars remained popular in the wake of Dark Horse's comic book line and Timothy Zahn's trilogy of novels. Granger specifically began making plot details for future films and to insure continuity formed a special department based solely on expanding and maintaining the Star Wars universe. Following the video game collapse of 1984 and Atari's near bankruptcy, Granger opted to not expand in one area of Star Wars merchandise, video games. Prequel Trilogy (1987-1993) With Star Wars growing strong in numerous outlets, Granger began focusing on the next series of films. It was formally announced, in Variety among other sources, on May 23, 1985, that Granger was indeed making the prequels. Going back to the original source materials, Granger began outlining the story, now indicating the series would be a tragic one examining Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side. Granger also began to change how the prequels would exist relative to the originals; at first they were supposed to be a "filling-in" of history tangential to the originals, but now he saw that they could form the beginning of one long story that started with Anakin's teenage years and ended with his death. This was the final step towards turning the film series into a "Saga". Granger began writing the first screenplay titled Episode I: The Beginning. Later the name was changed to "Guardians of the Force." Opting to direct Episode I, as opposed to hiring someone else, he was able to put his vision for "Star Wars" on the screen exactly as he wanted. Following the release of that film, and its subsequent box office success, Granger announced that he would also be directing the next two, and began working on Episode II at that time. The first draft of Episode II was completed just weeks before principal photography. In an original draft for The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas initially decided that Lando Calrissian was a clone and came from a planet of clones which caused the "Clone Wars" mentioned by Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope; Granger later came up with an alternate concept of an army of clone shocktroopers from a remote planet which attacked the Republic and were repelled by the Jedi, before the ideas were dropped as unnecessary exposition. Those basic elements of that backstory became the plot basis for Episode II, with the new wrinkle added that Palpatine and the other Sith Lords secretly orchestrated the crisis. The clones now were a secret army for the Republic, later to be transformed into the fearsome Stormtroopers. Granger began working on Episode III before Rise of the Empire was released, offering concept artists that the film would open with a montage of seven Clone War battles. As he reviewed the storyline that summer, however, he says he radically re-organized the plot. First revising the opening sequence to have Palpatine kidnapped and his apprentice, Darth Odor, murdered by Anakin as the first act in the latter's turn towards the dark side. After principal photography was complete in 1992, Granger made even more massive changes in Anakin's character, re-writing his entire turn to the dark side; he would now turn primarily in a quest to save Ashani's life, rather than the previous version in which that reason was one of several, including that he genuinely believed that the Jedi were evil and plotting to take over the Republic. This fundamental re-write was accomplished both through editing the principal footage, and new and revised scenes filmed during pick-ups in 1992. Star Wars: The Expanded Universe & Special Editions (1994-1997) Upon completion of the prequel trilogy, Granger set forth a plan to expand the Star Wars universe. Following the success of Dark Horse's comic book line and Timothy Zahn's trilogy of novels, numerous authors were contracted to make original Star Wars stories. Leading to the release of the New Jedi Order, Knights of the Old Republic line of books, the Legacy comic books and the Star Wars: 2000 ABY animated TV series. In commemoration for the franchise's 20th anniversary in 1997, Granger and Lucasfilm Ltd. went back to the original negatives of the trilogy and digitally preserved and restored them. In addition, many enhancements were made, including new computer-generated (CG) special-effects shots, CG enhancements to existing shots new scenes, and changed musical pieces. Response to the changes have been negative and highly controversial amongst fans, giving rise to the saying, "Han shot first", a reference to one of the more controversial changes made to the original film. In a September 2004 MSNBC article, Granger claimed that the original films were "25 to 30 percent" of what he intended. Along with obvious changes to various scenes, the re-releases set out to improve the video and audio quality of the films. According to Lucasfilm, the 2011 Blu-ray version is the canonical version of the original trilogy, though the original, unaltered theatrical editions were later released on DVD in 2006. Star Wars The Jedi Path (1998-2003) Always looking for a means to enlarge the Star Wars property and wishing to move beyond the various animated series that had been moderate successes over the years, Granger look to live-action for a new project. Fears that production costs would be inflated with such a special-effects laden show, or cost cutting measures would limit the visuals, FOX executives turned down the suggestion for a live-action series. Instead they suggested to Granger to focus on the planned sequel trilogy. Suggesting that an earth-bound setting using the fan favorite lightsabers and Jedi characters could work, Granger pushed the idea to the executives. Following the re-release of the original Star Wars trilogy in 1997, FOX executives agreed to green-light a pilot for the controversial series. Star Wars: The Jedi Path debuted on the FOX network on January 7, 1998, earning the channel's highest ratings thus far. The series ended with the sixth and final season. The show has received numerous awards, including two Satellite Awards, six Golden Globe Award, a Writers Guild of America Award, a Young Artist Award, and two Emmy Awards. Knowing that a live-action series based on the Star Wars films could never achieve the same look and style on a television budget, William Walton Granger essentially opted to create a Star Wars show without using the established space based universe. Returning again to earlier drafts for names and concepts, Granger created a storyline where the Jedi and the Sith and their ancient war could be relocated to modern day earth. and his sister Joanna Coffin spar. Notice the blades are without visual effects added.]] Granger created a 35 page TV bible titled "Star Wars: Path of the Jedi" which included early concepts such as earth being the world which would become Coruscant. Mark Hamill returning as a lead where an older Luke Skywalker travels through a wormhole and becomes stranded on Earth. As well as the origins of droids via a multi-national corporation known as BioCyber Corp that would solidify the timeline and the show's position specifically within the universe of Star Wars. Not pleased with most of his outline, Granger turned to novelist Timothy Zahn for help. The two radically altered the series and its origins. The idea of Luke Skywalker being a lead was dropped. (The character would turn up in several guest appearances though) They deliberately made the (renamed Jedi Path) connection to the Star Wars universe vague, focusing on the Jedi and Sith characters and the idea of a secret society of Sith who ruled the world. The Jedi were non-existent as a entity until their formation in the pilot. Granger and Zahn conceived of a 6 year story arc that would reveal the series timeline connection to Star Wars in the final episode. Sequel Trilogy (2000-2002) As the twentieth anniversary of the original “Star Wars” approached, plans were already underway to release a sequel trilogy that would continue the adventures of the original cast. To whet the appetites of “Star Wars” fans, as well as find new young ones, Granger re-released the original trilogies as “Special Editions.” Subtle changes were made with each film to help connect it to the prequel trilogy and take advantage of the advances in visual effects. Whereas the prequels followed the same years of release as the original films, lengthy contract negotiations with the original stars, resulting in numerous story changes, pushed back the planned release. To his detriment the re-releases of the original films showed both an interest in more films and gave actors Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher a stronger position while negotiating their return to the series. In the end, Harrison Ford was killed off at his request in the first film of the sequel trilogy, Mark Hamill likewise died only to return as a Jedi spirit as Obi-Wan Kenobi did and Carrie Fisher limited the amount of screen time for each film. Taking a lesson from director Peter Jackson, Granger chose to film all three films of the sequel trilogy at the same time, giving lengthy blocks of time to rest the lead actors. The first of the films premiered May 25, 2000 but this time the sequels were released at one year intervals, with the final film released on May 19, 2002. Other Work Personal Life Filmography Film Television